After a spooky synth intro track that sounds like a snippet of '70s Italian horror movie specialists Goblin, the Birthday Massacre's debut album swiftly moves into a reimagination of '80s new wave styles rather similar to fellow Toronto band Metric but with more of a goth/darkwave vibe.
Two synthesizer players do battle with a rock guitarist fond of the kind of crunchy hard-candy riffs that the hair metal bands made inescapable for a few years.
Over this, mono-named singer Chibi does a passable imitation of Lene Lovich's quirky phrasing, occasionally shooting for a more ethereal Kate Bush sort of sound.
The resulting mélange of half-remembered styles from the not so distant past is entertaining enough, but in the same way that the paisley underground bands were entertaining in the '80s themselves: Violet is a not-quite-right homage to a specific musical period that ends up being less enjoyable than the Sisters of Mercy or Siouxsie and the Banshees records that probably inspired the Birthday Massacre.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lovers EndThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | Happy BirthdayThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | VioletThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | RedThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 01:11 | 2 MB | 3 MB |
| 5 | Play DeadThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | BlueThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 7 | Video KidThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | The DreamThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | BlackThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 01:29 | 3 MB | 6 MB |
| 10 | HolidayThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 05:14 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 11 | Never MindThe Birthday Massacre | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 12 | Horror Show | The Birthday Massacre | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 45 mins | 105 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 306 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aslan | Guitar (Bass), Member of Attributed Artist |
| 2 | The Birthday Massacre | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 3 | Chibi | Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 4 | M. Falcore | Group Member, Guitar, Mixing Assistant |
| 5 | Noah Mintz | Mastering |
| 6 | Rainbow | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist, Sequencers |
| 7 | Rhim | Drums, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 8 | George Seara | Engineer, Mixing Assistant |
| 9 | M. Talcore | Additional Personnel, Guitar |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |